On My Mind
by lowlaury
Summary: Beck, André, Jade, Tori, Cat and Robbie - 6 new students to start their first year at HA. They all become friends quickly but what happens when Tori & Jade both start developing feelings for Beck? - eventual BADE, one-sided Bori. Cade friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! :) First of all, I know there are a lot of "How they started to date" stories of Beck and Jade but I think (hope) this one is different. Mostly because Jade and Tori both start under the same prerequisities. I could've made it a "secret" who Beck chooses in the end but, well, just look at my profile and it would have been obvious anyway LOL I'm sorry if there are similarities to any other story, if that's the case it's not on purpose.**

**Oh right, the title is inspired by a line of the song "Goodbye" by Miley Cyrus. I'm no fan of her (anymore) but I love the song and I thought that line kinda fitted the story :)**

**I hope you enjoy ;) Disclaimer: Wait, let me check my ID... No, apparently my name is not Dan Schneider. I own nothing and I don't get paid for writing - what a shame.**

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><p><strong>O N . M Y . M I N D<strong>

_.. I can honestly say you've been **on my mind** since I woke up today .._

It was the first day at school. Well, it was not just any school. It was Hollywood Arts, _the_ elite school for the most talented kids in L.A. All of the few who got accepted to that school were most likely to become actors, singers, directors and - most of all – extremely famous later on. If you got to go to school there, your future was as good as set.

All those who had made it through this year's auditions and could from now on proudly call themselves students of Hollywood arts, were now crowding in the auditorium of their new school. Principal Eikner wanted to give a speech to the new students there to bid them all welcome, so everyone was bustling around excitedly, trying to find a good seat and take a look at their fellow students.

A girl with long brown hair stood in the aisle and gave a rather helpless impression as she looked around nervously while dozens of other kids passed her to get a seat. Along those kids was a boy with dark skin and dreadlocks. As he made his way through the crowd, his eyes fell on her and without thinking he stopped in front of her.

"Hey", he smiled.

Her big brown eyes met his gaze as she shyly lifted her head. "Hi.", she replied insecure.

"I guess you're also new?"

She nodded.

"I'm André.", the boy told her and held out his hand.

She took it gratefully. "Tori.", she smiled.

"So, do you know anyone here?"

Tori shook her head. "No, not really. Well, my sister goes to school here, but she's not in the same year. So, no, I don't."

"Well, that makes two of us.", André said. "Wanna sit with me?"

She smiled relieved. "Love to."

Together they made their way through the crowd and sat down on two empty seats in the middle.

Meanwhile, two girls were entering the auditorium as well. The first had bright red hair that, despite the fact she was rather small, stood out of all the other heads in there, while the other girl was tall with dark brown hair that had a few colored streaks in it.

"Cat.", the one with the dark hair said and rolled her eyes. "Would you _please_ let go of my arm?"

"I'm so so so so excited, Jade!", Cat exclaimed and squeezed her friend's arm even harder. "We really made it! _Hollywood Arts_!"

"Yeah yeah, let's just get a move on and sit down." Jade dragged her twirly friend along the rows of cushy seats, looking out for some good ones.

"I can't wait until we finally start our first class! I mean, acting, singing, improv – all of that sounds so exciting! And I really wanna..."

Cat kept on babbling like that and Jade stopped listening to what she said. This day was stressful enough. She turned her head left and right constantly to find two empty seats she would be satisfied with and hence didn't pay attention to what (or rather who) was right in front of her. Before she knew what was happening she had bumped right into a boy who also seemed to have been looking for a good seat.

"Whoops", he said in surprise when they hit each other. "Are you alright?"

Jade looked up and stared right into the handsome boy's face. The first thing she recognized where his kind brown eyes. And he definitely had the most awesome hair she had ever seen on a boy. But she wouldn't be Jade West if that had been be enough to impress her. "Watch out!", she hissed and pulled Cat with her as she went by him without another word.

The redhead giggled and waved at the boy while Jade had finally chosen a row and dragged her to some empty seats. He gazed after them, a little confused at the tall girl's rudeness but also felt a little interested in it. He shook his head and smiled as he took a seat next to a weird boy who had brought a puppet.

. . .

The morning had passed by fast and lunch time arrived soon. Cat and Jade went outside to the 'Asphalt Café', where all students of HA usually had their lunch. It was located next to the school's parking lot and had lots of round tables to sit at, as well as a truck where you could buy food. But the most special part of it was definitely the upper stage, which immediately caused Cat to bounce up and down excitedly.

"I love this school!", she exclaimed and happily clapped her hands.

"I know.", Jade sighed. "You've told me at least a thousand times today." She looked around and spotted an empty table. "There.", she said and dragged her bubbly friend along.

As soon as they had sat down, Cat jumped up again. "Wait here, I'll get us some food!"

"Whatever." Jade rolled her eyes as her friend left and headed over to 'The Grub Truck'.

This school was definitely special. And that was exactly why Jade had chosen it. She knew that she had talent. Much talent. Singing, acting and dancing, directing movies, writing plays – that was her world, what she wanted to do, even though her father was anything but happy about that.

It didn't take Cat long to reappear, two bowls with burritos in the one hand and on the other she dragged a weird looking boy along. He looked like a total nerd to Jade and (to top it all) was holding a... puppet?

Jade raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Jade, this is Robbie.", Cat introduced with a wink to the weird boy.

"Hi.", Robbie said shyly.

"'Sup, sexy lady.", his puppet said right after him. Jade's jaw dropped and she glared at Robbie. Usually no one dared to speak to her like that.

"What did you just say?", she asked angrily and frowned at him.

"N-nothing, that was just Rex, I'm sorry.", Robbie stuttered.

Cat giggled. "He's so funny, isn't he? That's why I brought him, we can all be friends!"

"Cat!", Jade moaned. "What did I tell you about making friends with random people?"

"I know, but Robbie isn't random! He's our classmate." She turned to Robbie, who looked quite uncomfortable. "Come on, sit down with us."

He didn't seem happy about sitting with Jade but did as he was told. Before Jade could say another thing, two other students appeared at their table.

"Hey, can we sit with you three? All the other tables are full.", a dark skinned boy explained.

Cat nodded happily. "Yay, more friends!"

Jade rolled her eyes once again as the two sat down with them. "I'm André and this is Tori by the way.", the boy introduced.

"Hi.", Tori smiled.

"I'm Cat and this is Jade and that's Robbie.", she said and pointed at each person she named. "So, we're all new, right?"

"Guess so.", André said and unwrapped his lunch. "Do you like the school so far?"

"I love it!", Cat squealed. "I can't wait to get to know everyone and everything!"

Tori chuckled. "That's awesome. Have you met a lot of people yet?"

"No, only Robbie and you two.", Cat said. "Jade and I have been best friends before." She grinned at Jade, who did her best to ignore all those new people around her. She really wasn't that much of a sociable person.

"Oh, that's so cool! To go here with your best friend, I mean.", Tori said.

"We can be best friends, chick.", Rex said and Robbie covered his mouth in shock.

Tori knitted her brows. "What-"

"I'm sorry!", Robbie exclaimed. "He is just like that, ignore him."

"We're not stupid, we know it was you who said that.", Jade growled.

"I didn't! It was Rex, I swear!", Robbie explained desperately.

André raised an eyebrow. "He's a puppet, man."

Robbie gasped at him in shock. "_He's not!_"

The other 4 exchanged glances. "Yeah, right...", Tori then said. "Let's not fight on our first day here. It's alright."

They resumed their lunch while talking a little about this and that, when Cat suddenly jogged Jade's elbow. "Jade, Jade, look!" She pointed to a boy a few yards from them, who seemed to be looking for a place to sit. "It's that boy from this morning."

"So?", Jade asked annoyed.

"Maybe he wants to sit with us, too!"

"No, Cat, please don't-"

But Cat had already jumped up and waved at the boy. "Over here! Sit with us!"

Jade groaned as he waved back and walked towards the group, looking relieved to have found some familiar faces. "Hey", he greeted as he sat down.

"Hi!", Cat said excitedly. "Do you remember Jade and me? We met this morning!"

The boy glanced at Jade who just picked at her salad. "Of course I do. And I'm Beck by the way."

Cat introduced all the others to him and they gave Beck a friendly nod.

"Nice to meet you.", André said. "I'm glad I got to know so many people on my first day already!"

Tori smiled. "Yeah, me, too." She glanced at Beck. He was cute, no doubt. And definitely her type. She sat up a little and tried to fix her hair, wanting to make a good first impression.

"We all should become best friends!", Cat said clapping her hands.

"Cat", Jade sighed. "That's not what you tell people you've only known for five minutes."

"Phooey..."

"'s alright, little red.", André said and suddenly Cat's mood lightened again as she giggled at that nickname. "I think you guys are all pretty cool, we should really hang out and stuff."

Beck nodded. "As far as I can tell, I agree. And besides I don't know anyone except for you 5 so far."

"Same.", Robbie said.

"What a surprise.", Rex teased. Beck shot the puppet a confused glance.

"Just ignore it.", Tori told him and shrugged.

Beck knitted his brows and gave Rex once last glance. "OK..."

"Hey Jade", André said.

Jade jolted up her head. "What?", she hissed and frowned at him.

"Woah, easy, girl. I just wanted to ask if you could pass me the salt please?"

She glared at him but pushed the salt shaker in his direction.

"Thanks."

Beck chuckled a little. "Are you always like that?", he asked Jade.

"Always like what?"

"You know, like... being on edge?"

Jade narrowed her eyes and frowned at him, not giving an answer. Cat giggled. "She's just Jade."

. . .

"So, how did you like our first day?", Cat asked Jade as they were on their way home. They lived very close to each other, only a few houses away. That's why they had known each other for really long.

Jade shrugged. "I think the school's quite good for me."

"I love this school!"

"I _know_, Cat.", Jade growled. They walked a few steps in silence until Cat couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Beck's cute, eh?"

Jade raised her eyebrows at her. "Don't build up false hopes, guys like Beck only date girls like that Tori. You know, those pretty, everyone-loves-them girls."

Cat giggled. "I'm not after him. But I think he's interested in you."

"_No. _End of discussion.", Jade simply stated. Cat knew her friend well enough to know that she meant what she said and there would be no use in arguing.

They arrived at Jade's house. Jade gave Cat a small nod. "See you tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Love it? Hate it? Should I continue? Tell me in a review please :)<strong>

**Oh, and to all my lovely readers who are waiting for an update to Summer Nights: Don't worry, I _will_ finish that story as well. I'm just on a writer's block on it...**


	2. Chapter 2

"Cat!" It was the morning of the newbies' second day at Hollywood Arts, 5 minutes before the first period would start. Cat had - once again – grabbed Jade's arm and was excitedly dragging her to their first classes room. "Cat, let go! People are staring." Jade glanced around nervously as she tried to shove off Cat.

The redhead ignored her friend's complaints and just checked the small note in her hand again, comparing the numbers she had written down on it with those next to the room they were standing in front of now. "This is the right room", she said brightly. "Let's go inside! Improv sounds like a lot of fun, I'm so excited!"

Jade sighed. "Wow, _you_ being excited? No way.", she replied sarcastically while Cat pushed her inside.

Not many students were there yet, only about five and two of those were André and Beck. André smiled when he spotted them and waved.

"Hey Cat and Jade. 'Sup?"

Cat smiled widely. "Hi André!" She tightened her grip around Jade's arm and pulled her towards the two boys to sit down next to them.

"Hey", Beck greeted and gave the girls a nod.

"Hey Beck", Cat replied happily. "Isn't this exciting, guys? Our first improv lesson!"

"I'm bursting with joy", Jade muttered and rolled her eyes.

Beck sighed. "Have you ever tried acquiring a more positive attitude, Jade?"

"Have you ever tried shutting the hell up about things that clearly are none of your business?", she retorted.

Beck knitted his brows. "No offense meant."

"Duh!"

"No really, it would make things a lot easier for you, I think."

"No really, it would make things a lot easier for you, I think", Jade imitated in a high-pitched voice.

Beck sighed again. "Fine. Have fun being your bitter self", he said turning away and stared at the blackboard, seeming to feel slightly offended.

"Don't be so mean to him, Jade", Cat whispered to her friend.

"Don't tell me what to do."

The bell rang and suddenly the room was crowded with excited students. Tori and Robbie joined the other four in the front row right a second before a strange looking man entered the room. His hair was sticking in all directions from the sides of his half-bald head and his clothes looked like he hadn't changed his wardrobe for at least 20 years.

"Good morning to all you amateurs", he said. "Welcome to improv class. My name is Sikowitz and I certainly love coconuts."

The class started to whisper and Jade raised an eyebrow, indecisive about what to think of this man. He either had to be a genius or a complete retard, she wasn't sure yet.

"So", Sikowitz said and clapped his hands to get back the class' attention. "To kick off, we'll be doing a little acting exercise. You pair up in teams of three and then another team decides what you will be playing, while in return you will be picking their roles. Got it? Alright." He glanced through his students. "You, you and you" - he pointed at Robbie, André and Cat - "are the first team and choose for team number two which is..." - now he pointed at Jade, Beck and Tori - "you, you and you."

He went on like that and teamed up everyone else while Jade gritted her teeth and shot a glance at her team partners. Tori looked all happy about the fact she got paired up with Beck, while Beck himself raised an eyebrow and gave Jade a challenging look. She frowned at him. Two days and she hated that guy already. Couldn't he just leave her alone?

Tori beckoned them over. "Let's decide on a task for the others!", she said.

"Fine", Jade sighed.

The three of them sat down in a small circle so they could face each other and started to confer.

"How about Cat's a farm girl and Robbie is her dad and André has come to their farm to tell them they will lose everything because of their debts?", Beck suggested.

"Lame", Jade stated and played with one of heir colored streaks.

Beck looked slightly hurt but before he could say anything, Tori began to speak. "OK, then what about André is a wizard and-"

"_No._"

"OK then, what's your suggestion?", Beck said rolling his eyes. It was a good thing that he wasn't the kind of person that lost his temper easily and stayed cool at most times.

"Cat is Robbie's mother, who is really embarrassed by her child because he can't speak properly and leaves out random letters. André is a therapist who is supposed to help them but Robbie is also hyperactive and drives him crazy with his behavior, so everything only gets worse." After she had finished her explanation, she gave Beck and Tori an expectant look.

"Well, that's... pretty good.", Beck admitted. Jade smiled and gave him a superior 'told you' look.

Tori nodded. "Yeah, let's take that one."

After Cat's team had decided on something as well, they met up and Jade told them about their roles. All of them nodded and then André cleared his throat to speak.

"So", he said. "Beck, you are a rich man who is engaged to Tori. The marriage was arranged by both of your parents. The day before your wedding, though, you realize that you're actually in love with an average girl from town, who will be played by Jade and works for Beck's family as a waitress, and now you have to make clear to your fiancée that you can't marry her and at the same time tell Jade about your feelings." He grinned at them. "Good, right?"

Jade moaned. "Where did you get this idea from? A clichéd chick flick or what?"

Cat giggled and the boys shrugged.

"Alright, get to acting now, class!", Sikowitz told them and sipped at a coconut.

Jade sighed and followed her team members into an empty corner of the class room. They started their acting exercise right away. Beck took both of Tori's hand in his own and looked her straight in the eye.

"Darling, I-", he started and glanced around feigned nervous. "I can't marry you."

Tori gasped. "Wh-what? But our parents-"

"I know", he cut her off. "But I really can't because... because..." He glanced at Jade who was standing next to them, pretending to clean some tables and went on. "because I love _her._"

Both girls looked at him in 'shock'. "Her?", Tori said angrily, while at the same time Jade put a hand on her chest in played bewilderment.

"M-me?", she asked.

Beck strode up to her and took her hand. "Yes, you." He made direct eye contact and Jade gulped at the intensity of his stare. But on the outside she stayed perfectly in character.

"But... why?"

"If I only knew... All I _do_ know, though, is that I love you with all my heart." He lead her hand to his chest, right were his heart was, to underline his words. Through his shirt Jade could clearly feel his muscles and any other girl would have melted away on the spot. But not Jade. She just returned his gaze steadily, though it sent tiny shivers down her spine, which she simply ignored.

"How can you do this to me?", Tori shrieked and pushed Jade away from Beck. "You're ruining my life!"

Somehow Jade couldn't get rid of the thought that Tori was in actual fact pissed about Beck being so close to her. Of course she had noticed Tori's interest in Beck before and it wasn't surprising really. It was exactly as she had told Cat the day before; the pretty girl ending up with the hot boy. Not that she cared, though.

"I-I'm sorry!", Beck said and clutched his head. "I can't help what I'm feeling, you need to understand..."

Tori took a deep breath to obviously scream at her 'soon-to-be husband' one more time, but Sikowitz cut her off.

"Alright, let's call it a day. Well done, everyone."

Everyone grabbed their stuff and started leaving. Beck shot Jade one last glance as she strode up to the door with Cat, who was talking to her excitedly (once again). He smiled a little as he watched Jade rolling her eyes at Cat's chatter but still listening to what her friend had to say. Those girls' friendship was one of the weirdest he had ever seen but still it worked somehow.

And he didn't know what it was exactly, but there was something fascinating about Jade, something which kept his attention stuck to her whenever she was near. He just couldn't help it.

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><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews, everyone :) <strong>

**s o f t.l u l l a b y: Thanks for the hint! English isn't my first language and somehow I must have slept in class or something when my teacher explained punctuation, I barely know a thing about it... LOL**

**btw, I forgot to say in the beginning, they all are like 15/16 in this story. Didn't want to make them too young, idk. Also, I don't like to rush things with Beck & Jade falling in love and starting to date and stuff, so it will probably take some more chapters for them to do so. But I will try to give you as many Bade moments as possible, don't worry :) Just wanted to let you know.**

**Pleeeeassseeee review? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"... and then my brother was like 'Noooo, please, I will do everything you want!' - but it was no use, my parents still refused to buy him a giraffe. Isn't that just _so_ unfair?" Cat shook her head in disbelief.

"Yeah," Jade said sarcastically while adjusting a huge spotlight. "I'm so shocked."

Cat nodded. "I know, right?"

"A little more to the left, Jade and Cat!" their teacher yelled below them. They had a lesson on special effects and setting and Cat and Jade were supposed to do the lighting.

Jade did as she was told. "Got it!"

Their teacher nodded and strolled over to another group of students who were eagerly taking care of a backdrop.

Suddenly Cat started to giggle.

"What?" Jade asked impatiently.

"Beck's staring at you."

"He isn't," Jade simply said but yet let her eyes wander to the stage below, where Beck and André where working on some props. Indeed, Beck was looking at her but turned away as soon as their eyes had met. Knitting her brows, Jade kept staring for a short moment before focusing on her work again.

Cat snickered. "I think Beck lik-"

"_Don't_ even say it!" Jade cut off her friend and pressed her hand on the redhead's mouth. "Listen closely, Cat, OK? Beck. Does. _Not_. Like me. We can't stand each other!"

"Uh-uh," Cat said shaking her head. "I saw you doing that acting exercise. Looked like the chemistry is right between you two."

"We were _acting_, Cat. That's it."

"But... – Look, he's staring again!"

Jade moaned. "Stop hallucinating!"

"I'm not, he really is! Look!"

"No."

Jade cursed under her breath and got back to working on the lightning as they were supposed to do. As much as she loved Cat, she could get really annoying sometimes. She didn't like Beck because she didn't like people who told her to be nicer in general. During the past week they had constantly clashed at any given opportunity. Most of the time he tried to talk her into reconsidering her attitude. The fact that every time he did so, he also stated that he only meant it well, which was only leading to her getting even angrier.

Plus, he would probably start dating that Tori girl soon and then he would definitely be out of favor with her because there was nothing Jade disliked more than those super popular 'dream' couples who kept sucking each other's faces all day. And she was most certain that Beck and Tori would end up as one of those.

Below Jade and Cat on the stage Beck and André were busy preparing some props for a play of some other students, which would have its premiere soon.

"'s everything alright, man?" André asked after having observed Beck for a while. "You seem kinda distracted."

Beck ran a hand through his long black hair. "Yeah, everything alright."

"What's it then?"

"Nothing." He rubbed his hands nervously.

André suspiciously raised an eyebrow. "Come on, spit it out."

Beck hesitated for a moment before he sighed and shrugged. "Fine, it's about Jade."

"The ice queen?" André grinned.

"Yeah... well, I'm just wondering if there's a reason why she is like that. I have a feeling that if you get to know her better she might-"

"You like her," André grinned.

Beck gasped. "_What?_ No, I-I'm just curious, that's all."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

André chuckled. "Okay."

. . .

By now Tori was absolutely sure that she liked Beck. Of course it had only been a week since they had got to know each other and she knew that it was a little early but she had always been a girl who knew exactly what she wanted. And this time she wanted Beck.

She just had to. Come on, it was obvious that they were meant to be. To Tori at least. To be honest, she had known it right from the first moment she had laid eyes on Beck, that she wanted him to be hers. That feeling had simply grown stronger and stronger over the past week so that she was dead certain about the fact that it just _had to be_ by now.

Don't get her wrong, she wasn't slutty or anything, and definitely not easy to have (as for most guys), it just occurred from time to time that she found one of those 'special ones', who she started to admire right at the first sight - and Beck happened to be one of those.

So now it was certain: She would win Beck's heart. And she would start right now.

. . .

Beck was confused. There was no other word to describe that strange feeling he had had all the past week. Confused because he really didn't know what to make of his feelings. On the one hand he disapproved of Jade's negative attitude towards everyone and everything (he himself was just like the exact opposite of her as for that matter), on the other hand there was something which kept him thinking of that strange girl _all the time_.

And so he was when he sat in history class (yes, even students of HA need to study "normal" subjects apart from arts) after their special effects lesson. Before André had mentioned it, the thought of actually liking Jade _that way _had never occurred to him. But since his friend had brought it up he had been wondering if there was any chance that it could be true really. Because, come on, everything would make sense then, wouldn't it? The whole thinking-of-her-all-the-time stuff.

But it was also ridiculous to think so, wasn't it? He was _Beck Oliver_ after all, and guys like him couldn't date girls like Jade West, the Ice Queen, right? ...right?

As his teacher kept telling them about things Beck really couldn't care less about at that moment, he couldn't help but glance over to Jade every now and then (not even noticing how Tori did the same to him during the whole time), while he thought his feelings over and over. She was pretty, no doubt. _Very _pretty, to be honest.

OK, maybe he liked her_ a little bit_ (too much). But what was the point in that anyway? All they did was fighting and he was pretty sure that Jade did not like him _at all_.

But then again, he _kind of _liked her even though they seemed to not get along too well. So maybe she did, too? There was only one way to find out (the mere thought of it made him gulp) – he would ask her out.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry this was kinda suck-ish. But it's like 1.30am and I just wanted to give you another update before I go on a class trip until next week : Yep, I'll be gone until Junde 21st, so no updates (I'd really prefer staying home). **

**Anyway, Bademance is getting started :) YAY!**

**Too lazy to type any more. Please review, though! LOL**


	4. Chapter 4

It took him almost a week to finally take the courage to ask her - to his own surprise, to be honest. Usually Beck wasn't the type to be too shy to ask a girl out and who had always gone straight ahead. But this wasn't about just _some_ girl, it was about _Jade West_, so it was no wonder that this time was different. Because_ she _was different. And that was probably the reason why Beck had become all crazy about her in just two weeks.

And here he was now. On his way to her locker where she was busy throwing some of her books in carelessly. He tried to fix his hair one last time by running his hand through it in his typical move before he stopped right in front of her and coolly leaned on a colorfully decorated locker next to hers.

"Hey there," he smiled.

"What do you want?"

Jade didn't even look at him but continued placing books and other stuff in her scissor-covered locker, almost as if he wasn't even there. But Beck wouldn't be intimidated by that since he had gotten kind of used to Jade's cold behavior.

"You know, I was just wondering if you would want to – maybe – go out with me sometime?"

He gave her a light smile.

"No," she simply said, slammed her locker shut and walked away.

Beck was left behind, slightly confused by the harsh rejection, and it took him some time to find his tongue.

"Wha – wait," he shouted. "Just 'no'? Don't I get, like, an explanation or something?"

But Jade didn't even turn around.

Sighing, Beck threw back his head and stared at the drab ceiling, resting his head on the cold metal of the lockers. It really wasn't that surprising that he got rejected, was it? What else had he been expecting?

Jade was out of sight already but he turned his head to stare in the direction she had left, sighing once again. He had known before that this wasn't going to be easy but it still hurt - hurt his pride, his confidence - and most of all his heart, even though it felt weird to him to admit that.

Yes, so maybe he had went from _kind of_ liking her to _actually_ liking her faster than he preferred. But he wasn't sure himself yet. This whole situation was confusing, mostly because it was one like he had never been in before.

Being buried in thought Beck didn't notice how Tori had appeared in front of him, smiling happily as ever.

"Hey Beck," she greeted him.

"Huh – I mean, hey," he replied and slightly shook his head to go back to thinking straight, which didn't quite work out. His mind kept wandering back to Jade no matter how hard he tried to focus on what Tori was saying.

Meanwhile she was playfully twisting a streak of long brown hair around her finger while she spoke. "I was wondering if maybe you could help me with something. You know, I'm not that good in math and there is this homework we have to hand in by Monday, so I thought maybe you could–"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," he told her hastily, hoping to get rid of Tori as soon as possible. He needed more time to think about Jade.

"Awesome," she said and beamed at him. "So can I come over tonight? Or do you have any plans?"

"I don't," he replied stifling a sigh. "Just come over whenever you want, I'm home."

"OK cool - and thanks, Beck!"

"Sure."

She gave him one last smile and then turned around to walk over to her own locker, grinning at her success. He would most certainly be hers soon, she was absolutely positive about that.

While he was watching Tori strolling away, Beck realized what he had actually done. He would have to spend the whole evening with her while all he felt like doing was to crawl away into his bed and wallow in self-pity because Jade had rejected him. He wasn't sure if he could manage to play nice all evening under those circumstances.

But on the other hand, maybe Tori could help him forget his misery, even if it was just for a while. And it wasn't like Tori was the worst person to hang out with, she could actually be pretty funny and it was usually nice to have her around. So how bad could it get?

. . .

"He did what?"

"Shush, Cat!"

"_He did WHAT?_"

"I said _shut up_!"

Jade clashed her hands on her friends' mouth but the redheaded girl kept on babbling excitedly - just that no one could understand her mumbling anymore and so - to Jade's satisfaction - she gave it up soon.

"Will you _please_ calm down now?" she asked impatiently.

Cat nodded and slowly Jade removed her hand from her friend's face.

"Ohmygod he asked you out!" she squealed as soon as her mouth was free again.

Jade rolled her eyes and moaned. "Cat!"

"Sorry," she giggled. "Told ya he likes you, didn't I? Didn't I?"

"Shut up."

"Why did you say no, though? Beck is perfect!"

"He isn't _perfect_," Jade snorted. "He's annoying."

Cat shook her head. "Uh-uh, you know he's not. I think you even kinda lik-"

"_No_, Cat, I _don't_."

"Do too."

"Do _not_."

"Do t-"

"_End of conversation_," Jade growled and slammed her fist on the lunch table they were sitting at.

Cat pouted at her. "But are you sure you won't regret this later? I mean, like a thousand percent super-sure?"

"Give it a bone, Cat!"

"Fine, you have been warned," the redhead said and sipped her milkshake. "You know, this shake reminds me of clowns. You know, because clowns have red noses and this is strawberry-flavored. Strawberries are red, too! Do you remember that time when my brother once–"

As Cat went back to her usual random talk, Jade stopped listening to her (as she often did) and was dwelling on her own thoughts. Stupid Cat. _Of course_ she was sure that she had done the right thing. Even a thousand percent super-sure. She really was... wasn't she?

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><p><strong>I'm back home (have been for a few days, actually) and so here's an update - finally! I'm sorry I always keep you waiting...<strong>

**So yeah, it's not that easy for Beck - but who would have ever thought that anyway, right? ;) I have some things planned for this story (thanks to a 6 hour bus & train ride on which I had lots of time to think), so I hope you will all keep on reading (& reviewing? :D Please?) :)**


	5. Chapter 5

8 pm.

_If I had accepted his offer, I wouldn't be here now._

Jade rolled over her bed, burying her face in a big purple pillow. It was all Cat's fault. Why had she tried to make her feel guilty about rejecting Beck? She really didn't want to go out with him.

Really.

Really?

But Beck is perfect, she remembered her friend's words. So why not try it?

Because I can't stand him, Jade decided. Let's stick to facts, they hadn't talked that much to each other and most time they _had _done so, it led to some fight. He wasn't happy about her being negative all the time and she hated being told so. So it wouldn't work out anyway. Period.

She grabbed her phone and started randomly scrolling through some photos on it, when it suddenly started buzzing. A text message from Cat.

_Still no regrets? x_

Jade groaned, pushing her face into the pillow again. Couldn't she just let her alone? Yeah, maybe she was thinking about her decision right now, maybe she was slightly bored, maybe she was wondering about the _what if_.

_But_ she was also sure that the contras were outweighing the pros for dating him. So it was decided. No regretting. Right?

_Shut up, Cat._

Only a few seconds later her phone was buzzing again.

_So you ARE regretting it :)_

Jade narrowed her eyes and texted back furiously. What was she thinking?

_NO, Cat, I am NOT. I'm having the time of my life right now. Now stop getting on my nerves._

This time it took some time for Cat to reply and Jade was starting to get worried that she might have upset her too much. But then Cat texted back.

_I'll just wait for the moment in which I can say "told you so" then. _

Jade rolled her eyes and typed one last message.

_Have fun waiting._

She was sure that Cat wouldn't reply anymore now and Jade was also tired of this discussion. No, she wasn't regretting rejecting Beck. No, no, no. Impossible.

. . .

"Hey Beck," Tori greeted after he had opened the door to his silver RV.

"Hey," he replied and took a step to the side, motioning her to enter. "Come in."

Tori was looking around curiously while she went inside. The RV looked really comfortable. There wasn't that much space but still it was enough for one or two persons. Beck even had a fish tank in there.

"This is so cool," she admitted. "And you really live in here?"

"I do," he smiled. "So... we better get started now so we have enough time."

Tori nodded and the two of them sat down at a small table, starting to do their homework.

Tori had taken a lot of time to get ready for tonight. She had put extra effort into her outfit, hair and make-up (still trying to not look overdressed, though) to impress Beck. She was batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at him while she spoke and moved as close as she could while he explained things to her.

But all her efforts seemed to come to nothing. Beck didn't even notice her approaches, he was just trying to _not_ think of Jade (which was harder than he thought it would be).

Halfheartedly, he explained some things to Tori, hoping she would leave soon.

"And then you can just solve it. That's it, basically."

"Oh OK, I see," she said and nodded, while trying to make a thoughtful impression. "Thanks, Beck, you're the best teacher ever."

She gave him her sweetest smile.

Beck ran a hand through his hair nervously. "It's not a big deal..."

"Don't be so modest," she chuckled. "So, I guess we're done now and it's only..." - she glanced at her watch - "9 pm. Wanna go see a movie or something?"

"Uuh," he said, uncertain what to say. "No, sorry, I think I got some more homework to do and I wanted to go bed early today. Another time maybe."

"Oh OK," Tori said, trying to hide her disappointment. "Well, I'll just l-"

A knock on the door interrupted her. Beck knitted his brows in astonishment and shot a glance at the door. Who would visit him at this time?

He went to answer it and was surprised and shocked to find a certain girl at his doorstep.

"Jade?" he gasped.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, look, I was thinking about earlier today and– why are you so nervous?"

She eyed him suspiciously.

"I-I'm just surprised to find you here," he said, praying that Tori wouldn't come looking who was at the door because he knew Jade wouldn't take her being here well.

Jade narrowed her eyes. "What are you hiding?" she asked and tried to peer inside. Her eyes widened in shock when she spotted Vega sitting at the table, who was also trying to figure out who was standing at the door. Tori's expression changed from curious to indignant as she recognized Jade.

"_Tori?_" Jade asked furiously, while turning back to Beck. "Really, Beck? Only a few hours after you asked me out you're hitting on _Tori_? Wow..."

"No, Jade, it's not what it looks like, we were just–" Beck tried to explain but Jade cut him off.

"Yeah sure, I'm not dumb, Beck," she hissed. "I can't believe I came here..." she added, rather talking to herself than to him now.

She turned around and started stalking away. "This is all Cat's fault," she mumbled while leaving.

"Jade, please wait!" Beck shouted and started to run after her but stopped when he remembered Tori still sitting in his RV. He sighed. "I'm such an idiot..."

He watched as Jade disappeared in the darkness without looking back once. He had really messed it up big-time, hadn't he?

Slowly, he started walking back to his RV. Tori stood in his door, her things packed and ready to leave.

"So... what was this about?" she asked. "Are you dating Jade?"

"No," he sighed. "No, I'm not. This is... difficult, I can't really explain. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"OK," she said and gave him one last smile before she started to leave. "Bye, Beck."

"Bye."

As Tori had left, he went back inside his RV and let himself fall down onto his bed. This had probably been the worst timing ever. And he couldn't stop wondering why Jade had come to him. Had she changed her mind? Sighing, he decided that he would presumably never get to know the reason as it was unlikely that Jade would talk to him ever again now.

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><p><strong>I don't really know what to say... lol Are you all still interested in this story? Because I get less and less reviews on each chapter and idk... I really like this story and it'd be sad if everyone stopped reading it. <strong>

**Anyway, thanks to those who _did_ review! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Cat, it's Beck."

Two hours had passed since the 'Jade incident' and he was still lying on his bed, unable to keep his thoughts off the beautiful girl with the rainbow streaks in her hair, and his stupidity which had certainly messed up all chances (if he had ever had some in the first place) that she could possibly like him at some point.

"_Ooh, hi Beck," _the redhead at the other end of the phone said brightly.

"Did I wake you up?"

"_No, no, I'm still watching a movie with my brother. - Well, actually, I _was _watching it with him but he somehow disappeared, so I've been watching it alone for the past hour... he is so weird, sometimes I wonder how we can be related," _she giggled.

"Yeah... uh, listen, Cat, can you please give me Jade's number? I need to call her."

Suddenly Cat seemed focused. _"You want her number?"_

"Yes, I gotta talk to her as soon as possible," he said, rubbing his neck nervously.

Cat giggled. _"Why don't you just ask her for her number yourself?"_

"Uh, I guess she wouldn't give it to me... or even talk to me."

"_Huh? Did something happen?"_ Cat asked, alarmed. _"Wait, did you guys go out after all? How was it? Did you have a fight?"_

"No, no, we didn't go out, I... can you please just give me her number?" he pleaded.

"_Oki doki loki,"_ she said brightly and told him Jade's number. Beck scribbled it down on a loose piece of paper he had happened to find near his bed.

"Thanks, Cat, bye," he said hurriedly and hung up as soon as he had heard Cat's 'bye' as well.

Indecisively, he stared at the piece of paper in his hands for a moment. _He had to. _His hands shaking lightly, he started dialing the number Cat gave him. He threw a quick glance at his clock. 11:06 pm. Hopefully Jade was still awake.

He listened to the ringing tone for a while, nervously wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. Then she finally answered her phone.

"_Who the fuck are you and where did you get my number?" _Jade shouted angrily.

"Hi," he said, sounding a little dejected. "It's me, Beck."

There was a long pause and just as Beck started wondering if she had hung up on him just like that, she finally spoke. _"What the hell do you want?"_

"I wanted to explain it to you. Today, I mean."

He gulped. Even though he had only known her for two weeks, he still knew her well enough to know that he was treading on thin ice and that Jade would probably not even give him the slightest chance to explain.

And he was right.

"_Fuck you."_

He heard a click and then there was nothing but silence. "Damn it," he whispered, tossing his phone on the ground and burying his face in his pillow again. Why was suddenly everything so complicated?

. . .

Jade woke up the next morning, feeling the strong need to stay at home. Not because she was afraid of talking to Beck or anything like that – God, no! –, she simply didn't want to have to deal with his pathetic tries to explain himself using some filthy excuses all day.

She knew what she saw and she knew Tori – her despicable attempts to flirt with Beck in school had been obvious. All Jade had had to do was to put two and two together, and Beck didn't need his stupid excuses anymore. She _knew _what had been going on.

Wasn't it obvious? Beck was a player. It was as simple as that. If he couldn't get that one girl, he'd just hit on another. Idiot.

Unwillingly, Jade got up. She had to go, or Beck might end up thinking he would affect her that much. No, he definitely wasn't. Oh God, she didn't even like him, did she? Why was she caring about him anyway? Eugh.

Only a second after she had gotten ready and left the bathroom, the doorbell rang and a excited Cat was waiting for her.

"Ohmigod, what on earth has happened yesterday? I wanna know everything!"

Jade shot her a suspicious glance. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act as if you don't know! What happened between you and Beck?" the redhead asked impatiently, jumping up and down and bursting with curiosity.

"What should have happened? There was nothing." Jade lied.

"Come on, Jade, why would he call me at 11 pm, begging for your number, if there was nothing? Tell me!"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "So _you_ gave him my number! I should've known..."

"Jade!"

"What?"

"Tell me!"

The pale girl rolled her eyes. Knowing Cat, she would find out sooner or later anyway and Jade didn't want to hear her begging all day. "Fine," she sighed. "But promise you won't embarrass me in front of Beck or Tori and talk to them about what I'm going to tell you now, alright?"

Cat nodded eagerly.

"OK, so you know that Beck asked me out yesterday-"

Cat gaped. "Oh my God, you went out in the end?"

"_No_," Jade hissed through gritted teeth. "Let me finish."

"Phooey..."

"So, I thought about what you said, about regretting and stuff-"

"Ha!" Cat exclaimed, grinning.

Jade groaned. "Would you just let me tell the story? So I went to Beck last night. I don't exactly know why I did that, I just felt like it, I guess... Anyway, guess who was with him in his stupid trailer?"

"Uhh, his mom? - No, wait, maybe Santa?"

Jade groaned again. "No, stupid. It was _Tori_."

"Oh OK... and then what?"

"Nothing then, I left, of course," Jade said.

"Huh, I don't get it. Why did you leave when you saw Tori?" Cat said confused, knitting her eyebrows.

"Hello-ho? He hit on Tori right after he had asked _me_ out, duh!"

Cat gasped. "Unbelievable! But wait... why did he sound so desperate then, when he wanted me to give him your number?"

"How should I know? Maybe he didn't want everyone to know how much of a douchebag he is, so he tried to smooth away difficulties."

"What did he say when he called you, anyway?" Cat asked.

"He said he wanted to explain things."

"Oh, so what was his explanation?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Nope. I said 'fuck you' and hung up on him."

"_Jade!_" Cat wailed.

"What?"

"Maybe he really had an explanation for all this? You should have at least listened to what he had to say!"

Jade snorted. "I don't need his pathetic excuses."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"Ignore him and never talk to him ever again, of course."

"Oh Jade..." Cat sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>YES, I MADE IT! Updating, I mean LOL my best friend will arrive her any minute and will stay for a week and I really wanted to update once more before, because I won't be able to while she's here. Yeah, so here's the update XD<strong>

**Further on, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all your encouraging words! I'm glad that so many people still like the story and was overwhelmed by the amount of reviews I got! Thank you!**

**... my friend just arrived as I was typing that last sentence XD**


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh snap," Jade spat, grabbing Cat's arm and dragging her in the janitor's closet. She locked the door before sitting down on a tiny table in a corner of the room, sighing. It was the fifth time today she had fled Beck and was slowly growing tired of it, nevertheless, giving up still was not an option to her.

"Jade," Cat whined. "Don't you think-"

"_No_," the dark-haired girl said decisively, while searching her bag for her phone. _6 unread texts_. Clenching her teeth, she did the same thing she had already done countless times today. _Delete_.

"Jade," Cat tried once more. "it seems very important to him to speak to you, maybe it really was a misunderstanding that he wants to clear up."

"As if! I know what I saw," Jade said, angrily shoving her phone into her pocket.

Cat sighed. "But he's trying so hard, there has to be more behind it."

"No. End of."

The redhead pouted at her friend, who only rolled her eyes, irritated.

. . .

Beck could have sworn that he had seen Jade at her locker just a few seconds ago, but now she seemed to have magically vanished from anywhere near his sight – again. Not even once today had he managed to speak to her yet. But he wouldn't give up so easily. He had known that it would be hard and he really couldn't let things unexplained. So he decided to simply wait at her locker. Sooner or later she had to come by here, hadn't she?

. . .

Cat anxiously shifted from one foot to another, peering through the little window in the door every now and then. "Jade," she pleaded. "We're going to be late for class if we don't get out of here soon!"

"That idiot still there?" Jade replied harshly.

"Yes."

"Well, then we'll stay."

Cat moaned. "Jade, please, we gotta go. You can't hide from him in here forever!"

"Yes I can," the pale girl spat. "Beck is a freaking dumbass and not worth a single second of my time!"

"Well, you still seem to care _a lot _about him if you are willing to miss improv class just to not see him," Cat grinned.

"Wha- I-I do _not_ care about him, Cat!" Jade said, her voice shaking a little at the unexpected statement of her friend.

The redhead giggled. "Then why are you blushing?"

Jade angrily covered her cheeks. "I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are," Cat chuckled. "I know you, you wouldn't _hide_ from some boy just because he went out with someone after you rejected him. You'd ignore, maybe torture him a bit, but not like that. Unless you'd _like_ that boy." She grinned at her friend.

"I most definitely do _not_ like him, Cat. Got it?"

"Still blushing," she giggled.

"Ugh, Cat! You're driving me nuts!" Jade groaned, turning her face away from her friend. "Why would I like such an idiotic, egoistic, stupid, narcissistic _player_? I bet he changes girlfriends in the blink of an eye and then brags about it in front of his friends. I have better things to do than to be one of many."

"I don't think Beck's like that," Cat said, knitting her brows. "Maybe you just need to give him a chance."

"Pff! Guess what I wanted to do yesterday? And guess what? He messed it up before I had even entered his stupid RV!"

"You can't tell, because you won't listen to him, Jade!" Cat told her. "And besides, that you even went to him is proof enough that you _do_ like him," she smiled.

"Quit it, Cat! I won't talk about this anymore."

Jade crossed her arms, staring at her friend angrily. Cat went to the door again and peered through the window. Beck was still standing there, anxiously checking his watch, while the last students strode by him to get to their classes. He would be late, but he didn't want to miss the chance to talk to Jade.

"Alright, I'm leaving now," she said determined, unlocking the door.

"_What?_ No, Cat, wait!"

But Cat didn't listen to her friend and just smiled while walking out of the janitor's closet. Jade ran a few steps after her but stopped dead when she saw who was waiting at her locker for her. Cursing under her breath, she flinched and backed away a few steps again. _Not him. _Hopefully he hadn't seen her yet.

What she didn't know was that Cat had had other plans than just getting to class on time when she had left.

"Hey Beck," she greeted the boy.

"Oh, Cat, hi," he said, looking a little surprised at the redhead who had just appeared from the janitor's closet. Then he saw his chance. "Hey, do you know where-"

"In there," Cat replied and motioned to the little room she had just left, not needing to hear the other half of the question. "She doesn't really wanna talk to you but – try," she smiled and moved on.

"Thanks, Cat."

Knowing where she was raised his hopes. Maybe he would finally get to talk to her now. Gathering courage, he walked toward the closet, but carefully peered inside before he entered. Jade was standing in the corner, arms crossed and a thoughtful look on her face, so that she didn't notice him until he entered and quickly closed the door behind him.

Jade gasped when she spotted him, but he only smiled at her. "Hey there," he said in an undertone of remorse. She glared at him for a moment, then tried to push him out of the way to get to the door. "Wait a second, Jade, _please,_" he begged, not letting her pass.

"I don't wanna talk to you," she hissed.

"Just let me explain this!"

"No!"

"But-"

"There is nothing to explain, I know what I saw!" Jade snarled, while starting one more attempt to leave the room, but Beck still held her back.

"It was not what it looked like, OK? Tori and I were just doing homework!"

She laughed bitterly. "Oh come on, that's like the most cliched excuse _ever_."

"I know," he admitted. "But it's the truth! Tori asked me if I could help her with math and I didn't wanna leave her in the lurch, so I agreed. That's all."

Jade glared at him for a short moment, before she spoke again. "Sure. All you did was _homework_. Of course," she then said sarcastically.

He sighed, getting desperate. "It's the truth!"

"Look, Beck, I know your game, OK? I won't spoil your precious reputation, so no need to try to make up with me, as long as you _leave me alone_."

He stared at her, confused, and tried to comprehend what on earth she was saying. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he eventually admitted.

"Come on, you're a _player_, you like to play with girls and their feelings, so you can tell everyone how much of a _womanizer_ you are. But I can see through your little game, sorry," she said.

"Jade," he began, but she cut him off.

"Oh right, I forgot. You need a little _trophy_ before you will leave me alone, right?"

OK, this was getting more confusing by the minute. Beck shook his head in bewilderment, trying to make sense of her words. "Jade, I-"

But instead of explaining things, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him close until her face met his. Before he even knew what was happening she broke the kiss off again, glaring at him.

"Here you go, now you can tell your friends that you melted the ice queen and move on," she said dryly, while pushing him out of the way and leaving without another word.

Beck was left speechless and unable to move. _What on earth had just happened? _Did _Jade West_ really just _kiss_ him? He carefully brought his fingertips to his lips, touching the place where her lips had been just a moment ago. It felt as if electricity was pulsating through them.

He had no idea why she had done it but one thing he knew for sure – he wanted _more _of it.

* * *

><p><strong>Ohhh Bade kiss! :) Maybe not what you would expect from a first kiss but... well. LOL<strong>

**Don't really know what else to say. I'm watching Winx Club right now because Liz voices one of the characters (and Ariana too). Hehe. I'm way too obsessed... I can tell because it's 2:30am and I'm still awake to watch a kids show just to hear 2 minutes of Liz's voice. Yep, obsessed. Definitely.**

**OK, now pleeeeaaaseeeee press that cute little review-thingy down there, k? :) V V V**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: So... have you watched anything of season 2? Did you see a lot of Bade? _No_? Well, then it's more than unlikely that I own Victorious.**

* * *

><p>Glancing at his clock, Beck decided that now it was too late to go to improv class, especially because he wouldn't want to explain <em>why<em> he was too late. He wondered if Jade had gone to class eventually, after, well, their _kiss_. He smirked as he thought about it. She had kissed him. Jade West. Kissed. _Him_.

It didn't matter that apparently she had done it because she got the wrong idea of him, but how it had _felt_. Thinking about it still gave him chills and enormous amounts of butterflies were partying in his stomach. This hadn't been just a 'trophy' or whatsoever. It couldn't have been. It had felt so... intense. So _real_.

Deep in thought, Beck strolled down the empty hallway, when it hit him. It. A _crazy_ thought, to be honest. That couldn't be, could it? He couldn't be _in love _with Jade, right? _Right?_ He cast his mind back to the kiss, trying to figure out his feelings. But the tingling sensation it caused in his whole body spoke for itself. He gulped. But... _how_? How had Jade managed to completely twist him around her little finger in such a short time – without even trying? And why had he let it happen in the first place? What did Jade West have that magically attracted him so much? It was a mystery to him.

He sat down on the empty table he and the gang, how Tori liked to refer to them, always reserved at lunch, since it was almost time for it. In a few minutes, the whole school would be outside, enjoying the sunny weather of L.A. But wait – would _she_ be there? Would she even sit at the same table with him? Or would she take Cat and make her sit on any other table from now on till forever to avoid him? (She was definitely capable of doing something like that.)

Beck didn't even notice at first, when Cat joined him as the first of their friends. "Hey," she said. "Where's Jade?"

He knitted his eyebrows. "What do you mean, 'where's Jade?' Wasn't she in class with you?"

"No, I thought she was with you after you two made up," Cat told him, now sounding slightly concerned.

Beck shook his head. "Yeah, we... we didn't really make up," he admitted. "She wouldn't listen to me and... went." He wasn't exactly lying to Cat. He was just leaving out some parts of the truth because he was afraid of her reaction to it. Knowing her, she would probably get so excited that she would tell the whole school, and he really couldn't need that. Jade was angry enough with him.

"Phooey," Cat pouted. "She's so stubborn!"

Beck chuckled a little. "Yeah, she is." Then his expression got serious again. "But I guess it's really all my fault. I messed it up."

"Don't say that," she solaced him, stroking his arm.

At the same moment, Tori, André and Robbie joined them for lunch. "Hey guys," Tori greeted, while placing her food tray on the table in front of her and sitting down. "Why weren't you in improv class, Beck?"

"I – uh – didn't feel like it," he said, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't lying, but he didn't want to to enlarge upon the reason for his absence either.

"Oh, well, OK," Tori said, sounding a little suspicious. "So, did you manage to get all your other homework done last night?"

Homework? Beck knitted his eyebrows, trying to figure out what she was talking about, when, fortunately, he remembered the excuse he had used to avoid going to the cinema with Tori after their meeting the night before.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure," he lied.

André glanced around. "Hey – where's Jade by the way? Wasn't she in my singing class this morning?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing her there," Tori said.

Beck and Cat exchanged glances, Beck motioning her to not tell them anything. Cat nodded.

"Maybe she wasn't feeling well and went home," she told them, then tried to change the subject. "I'm going to grab some food now, anyone coming with me?" She glanced at Robbie and André, who both hadn't bought their lunch yet, either.

"Yeah, sure," Robbie said, getting up and André followed.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tori leaned closer to Beck. "So... wanna explain last night to me now?", she asked, catching him off guard.

"L-last night?"

"Yeah, I mean, what did Jade want? And why did she get all upset?"

"Oh, _that_..." he said, trying to sound as if it was of no importance. "No big deal, really. Just forget about it. Just some... misunderstanding."

Tori nodded, but didn't look quite convinced. Still she decided to let it drop since Beck didn't seem willing to talk about it any more.

"So, how about we go see a movie tonight then?" she asked hopefully.

Beck flinched a little at that question. He couldn't make the same mistake again. "No, sorry, I'm busy tonight," he told her, shrugging apologetically.

"Oh, OK," Tori said. At moments like this she was more than glad to be an actress so she could hide her true feelings and emotions. Like disappointment.

She wondered what Beck could possibly be hiding. Because since last night, she was certain that he _was_ hiding something. And it had something to do with Jade. It had to. And she needed to find out soon, because whatever it was, it was interfering with her plans of making Beck hers.

The others came back to their table and Tori started eagerly chatting with André and Robbie about some upcoming play. Beck took the opportunity and leaned over to Cat, whispering, "Do you have any idea where Jade could have went? Maybe home?"

Cat shook her head. "I don't think so. She doesn't really... like her home, so she spends as little time as possible there."

"Oh, OK... so where else could she be?"

"Maybe..." Cat said, while thinking hard. "There is this old playground, I know she goes there a lot because there she's usually alone."

"Tell me where it is."

. . .

It was one of those extremely hot and sunny days in L.A. Not that that was unusual, but today Jade wished for some rain and thunder more than ever before, because that was how she felt like. She hated it when the weather didn't fit her mood (unfortunately, in L.A., it never really did) like it did in movies. She wanted storms, and hail and hell, even hurricanes, so she could feel as depressed and angry as she wanted to. Because a nice and sunny day wasn't exactly helpful with that.

She was sitting on some play equipment, that was looking like a pirate ship, at her very favorite place: an old playground not far from her house. Everything here was old and rotten and rusty, but that was exactly what she liked about this place. Because most times she came here, rotten and rusty was how her insides and life felt. Like only a slight push from falling apart. Broken. Not working anymore. Abandoned.

The brittle wood beneath her scrunched at every move she made, but she barely noticed. Absentmindedly, she drew little circles in the fine sand it was covered with, while thinking about her current life. _Beck._

It enraged her that Cat was probably right. She wouldn't be caring so much about him and the things he did, if there wasn't more behind it. And she hated that fact. She didn't want to care about that self-loving idiot. Angrily, she kicked a pebble out of the wooden ship.

Her own helplessness was making her sick. Feelings were nothing one could control or influence. You couldn't make them work your way by scaring or intimidating them, like Jade could do with almost everything else. And she hated it.

Because she knew that it would only break her heart. That she was certain about. She knew his little game _and_ she knew that even so, she still couldn't change her feelings. Not that they were terribly strong, she only cared about him a little, _maybe_, but the feelings being there was enough to drive her mad. She didn't _want_ this. She didn't want to care about anything but herself, and maybe Cat. No one else.

While she was still deep in thought, her phone went off. Jade startled up at the sudden noise and without thinking or checking the number, she answered it, but regretted it only a second later.

"Hello?"

"Jade, hi!" she heard Beck's surprised voice through the phone. "Wow, I didn't think you'd pick up."

She mentally slapped herself. "Ugh, yeah, me neither."

With that she hung up on him again. "Way to go, Jade," she murmured sarcastically to herself while resting her head on the unsound wall.

Her phone went off again. She stared at it for a second, then pressed _Ignore._ Only a minute later it rang again, and again, she ignored the call. It went on like that for a good 10 minutes, until she finally gave in.

"_What_?" she spat, slamming the phone to her ear.

"Are you OK?" Beck asked in a casual tone.

"Why shouldn't I be, idiot?"

"You weren't in improv class, you ignored my calls..."

"Nothing new with the latter," she said.

"Touché," he admitted and she could tell he was grinning.

She played with her hair while talking. "Is that all?"

"No. Can we... talk?"

"We talked this morning," she said matter-of-factly.

"Nah, that was more like _you_ talking and accusing me of things, while I didn't get the chance to say a word," he explained, still sounding a little amused.

"That's enough."

"No," he said. "I think we have a lot more talking to do."

"Why? I know your game, you got what you wanted – we're even."

He sighed. "Jade, there is no game or whatever you want to call it. I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Bye."

"No, Jade, don't hang up on me again!"

"I don't listen to you."

"But you haven't hung up yet, have you?" he grinned.

"That's it," she said angrily, ready to push the red button, but she still heard his chuckle.

"Just come out of that ship and talk to me, OK?"

Jade spun round, glancing out of one of the portholes next to her. Beck was sitting on an old bench near the half torn off fence that was built around the playground. He smiled when he spotted her, waving a little. She backed away into the ship again, so he couldn't see her anymore, and hung up. She needed some time to think.

Why was he here? She had thought this was over and he would already be hitting on the next girl by now. So why? And more importantly – why was her heart beating so fast?

Suddenly, he was sitting down next to her on the sandy ground of the ship. Way too close for her liking, actually, but since the ship was made for kids, it was pretty small and there wasn't much space for two teenagers.

"So," he grinned. "do you come here often?"

"Quit it."

"Sorry."

She glared at him. "What the hell do you want?"

"Clarify some things?" The way he said it sounded more like a question.

"There is nothing to clarify," she said, while seeking for a possible way out of this ship. But she couldn't get out unless Beck let her – which he probably wouldn't.

"There is."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"How about, there is no game or whatsoever as a start?"

She raised and eyebrow. "OK, and I wouldn't believe that. What else?"

"Why not?"

"I saw you and Tori, duh," she said, rolling her eyes.

He threw up his hands in a gesture of desperation. "I told you, we were doing _homework_."

"Yeah, sure," she replied dryly.

"What do I have to do so you will believe me?"

Jade stared at him for a moment. Maybe she was wrong and he wasn't lying? _No._ Jade West was never wrong. But his eyes... She sighed."Fine you were doing 'homework'" - she drew little quotation marks in the air, yet didn't sound as disbelieving as before - "Now leave me alone." Maybe he would finally let go now and she could get over this whole... thing.

He smiled, relieved. "One more thing."

Jade groaned. "What?"

"Do you wanna go out with me?"

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><p><strong>Look how fast I updated! And look how long this chapter is! :DD lol <strong>I thought about dividing this chapter into two, but I decided against it. That's why it's so long. <strong>And yes, I'll leave you hanging there :P **

**School starts on Monday :( That means, less time. I will try to update again before school starts but knowing me, I better don't promise anything.**

** s o f t.l u l l a b y: Thank you so much! And see, I updated faster :D**

**So... a lot of people have this story in their faves and even more on alert, but never review - so please do? :D**

**V V V**


	9. Chapter 9

"Do you wanna go out with me?"

She stared at him. Why was he still trying so hard? And why did she suddenly feel like just saying 'yes' and let it happen; let her fall for him? But she was afraid. She knew that he would only break her heart if she opened it up and let him in. She didn't like the thought of sharing her heart. It was hers, she wanted to have full control of it. But – did she even have full control anymore?

He glanced at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. It didn't seem like he was impatient or dragging her into it, he was just... hoping. And she hated that he was so nice, because it made it more and more difficult for her to hate _him_.

"I don't know," she eventually said. Not daring to look him in the eye, she stared in another direction, her face keeping the typical defiant expression the whole time.

He knitted his brows. "You don't know?"

She glanced at him quickly, noticing the confusion in his face. She sighed. "I just don't. This is too fast and... I need time to think, okay? I don't even know what is going on right now!"

She nervously thrummed her fingers on the wooden ground, still avoiding eye contact.

"Well... OK," he said and sounded a little relieved. At least this wasn't a rejection, was it? She could have said no, but she _didn't_! This was more like a _maybe_, right? But if he told her this, she would probably change her mind like nobody's business, so he tried his best to hide his joy. He weighed his words before he went on talking because he didn't want to mess it up now. "We don't have to hurry, I guess. How about we go out this Saturday? That gives you five days to think about it and if you wanna cancel the date – you'll have enough opportunities to do so at school." He smiled at her, hopefully.

Finally she turned to look at him, slightly shaking her head doubtfully. "Why are you making such an effort for me?"

"Because," he said, his expression firm but soft at the same time. "I like you."

Her ice-blue eyes widened at his words. And as hard as she was trying, she just couldn't get herself to think he was lying. She _wished_ he was. It would make things so much easier, so much less complicated. But he had managed to convince her of his words, though every piece of her was struggling against it. "Why?" was all she managed to say, and it sounded weaker than she had intended.

"You're special," he told her and he could have sworn that her mouth had twitched a little at his words. "So... sounds like a plan?" he smiled.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this!" she warned in her usual bossy Jade-tone.

He grinned. "So we have a date?"

She stared back at him, pursing her lips a little in her typical truculence, yet a light red was flushing her face. "Let me out of this," she commanded while eventually breaking the eye contact and pushing him impatiently to distract him from the fact she was blushing. Jade West didn't _blush_. Only stupid brats like Vega did.

He sighed and climbed out of the ship, closely followed by Jade. Without giving him another glance, she stomped to the exit of the playground, murmuring to herself. He shook his head in disbelief for her behavior, yet still smiling.

"So I'll pick you up at 8 on Saturday, if I don't hear from you till then!" he shouted after her. And he really hoped he wouldn't hear from her.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know. I haven't updated in like forever. And yes, this is short. But here's the explanation for both: Last time I updated I really was in kind of a "writing flow". So right after posting chapter 8, I wrote the bit above, planning on updating soon again. But then I got only a small number of reviews on the last chapter, even though I thought it was kind of eventful and also really long. I didn't even get half as many reviews as on previous chapters, which was, you know, kind of depressing. I don't wanna whine about not getting enough reviews (still, it's exactly what I'm doing right now, I know, but you'll get my point if you read on) because this is more about what did I do "wrong"? I mean, personally, I feel like the story is getting better as it carries on but the number of reviews gets smaller by every chapter I post. I'm just wondering<em> why<em>. Is it getting boring? What do you guys want to read/be included/think needs to change? Just tell me and I'll try. Today I decided to just post the bit I had already written and see if people are still interested. And to show I'm not dead... yeah.**

**That's it for now. Thanks for reading :) **


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